What to know about Microsoft Azure, the cloud computing platform and computing, networking, and storage services

• Microsoft Azure is Microsoft's vaunted cloud computing platform.
• Azure offers a range of cloud-based solutions for the creation and management of applications.
• Most Azure products use a pay-as-you-go pricing model, but some products can also be used for free.

Microsoft Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing platform that offers a range of cloud-based computing, networking, and data storage services.

Microsoft Azure boasts "solutions that enable organizations to build, deploy, and manage applications and services through Microsoft's global network of data centers."

Crystal clear, right? Don't worry, we'll break it down for you, but first just to clarify, Azure is indeed a computing platform, not just a storage platform.

In short, Azure lets you do things that require much more processing power than your computer has because the computing is done far from your desk, couch, or that coffee shop table. Now for the longer view.

When was Microsoft Azure created?

The same company that brought you PowerPoint, Word, and more, launched Azure as Windows Azure back in 2010, rebranding it to Microsoft Azure in 2014. With the launch of the company's AI interface Copilot in 2023, using Azure became easier than ever, as the smart chat interface can help less tech-savvy users take advantage of Azure's many uses.

Azure is now used by a plethora of small and large businesses and organizations. Indeed, Azure has become such a valuable platform and suite of services that Microsoft offers certifications in dozens of different Azure features and softwares to help IT professionals, developers, and engineers learn the intricacies.

Azure has become a critical component of Microsoft's business model since its 2010 launch, with executives often boasting of Azure's revenues in earnings calls.

However, Azure has not been immune from the turbulence within the tech industry in the post-pandemic era. Large rounds of Microsoft layoffs tend to be a "when" and not an "if" sort of thing, so it was hardly a great shock when hundreds of Azure employees were laid off in early summer 2024.

The large round of job cuts specifically targeted workers in the Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering departments, and were part of a pattern of layoffs begun in 2023 and expanded in 2024.

Microsoft Azure Services

Azure allows you to use an already immense and ever-growing catalog of services; it would be way too heavy of a lift to cover them all here, so we will showcase a few of the things you can do via this cloud computing platform.

Azure AI Search: This service allows you to conduct advanced, tailored smart searches and build up a vectored database of relevant retrieved information.

Azure Open Datasets: Host and share curated datasets that are honed and refined through machine learning, growing more accurate over time.

Speaker Recognition: This service allows for the ever-improving recognition of speech and integrates spoken words into programming, documents, and more. It is multilingual, of course.

Azure AI Content Safety: Azure can automatically watch out for images, text, and video content that might be inappropriate — or simply irrelevant — and filter them out of your content.

How much does Microsoft Azure cost?

Most Azure products use a pay-as-you-go model rather than fixed rates for different products or a flat monthly fee. Your costs could be as low as pennies each month for basic cloud storage or the managed hosting of a simple website or well into the thousands of dollars for enterprise-level use of myriad AI-enabled products.

Many Azure products can also be used for free. New users can enjoy 25 services free for 12 months, while others remain free at all times to all people. These include API management, the Azure AI Bot Service, and the Azure AI Metrics Advisor, to name just a few.

Microsoft Azure vs. AWS and Google Cloud

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the heavy hitter in cloud computing and storage, arguably leading the way in networking, cloud storage, mobile development, and cybersecurity.

Google Cloud Platform GCP is big on data analysis and arguably allows the easiest user experience and more seamless interaction with products created by other brands.

Microsoft Azure, for its part, provides vastly scalable and efficient software products, and it's usually cheaper than Google Cloud or AWS.